Showtime president David Nevins foreshadowed the somewhat surprising multi-season renewal during a conference call with reporters back in June. “Homeland is a show that is constantly reinventing itself… since it’s very much about this Intelligence world,” the exec said at the time. “More than most, this is a show that has an open-ended expiration date, just because of the subject matter.”

The formal announcement comes as Homeland begins production on Season 6, which will be set in New York City and chronicle the precarious two month period between Election Day and the swearing in of new POTUS Elizabeth Keane (House of Cards‘ Elizabeth Marvel). CSI: NY‘s Hill Harper recently joined the cast as Keane’s Chief of Staff, and The Flash‘s Patrick Sabongui is set to recur as a CUNY law professor who works with Carrie and is a fierce advocate for the Muslim American community.